I Remember When
by YumiOCS
Summary: "Did you know at that time what we would be to each other?" "Of course not, I hated you." "That is a lie." A smiling boy runs through the gardens, a little girl finds something she didn't know she missed. Little they knew about life... It's such a shame things can't be like that forever. ONESHOT


_**A/N:** This one is dedicated to my dear beta Take the Chopsticks and Run  because she was so kind when she first read it. Thank you for everything, by the way :)_

* * *

Rima pulled back slightly, searching desperately for air. Taking the opportunity, Shiki changed his focus to her niveous neck. He kissed the soft skin and felt the pulse of her blood racing in her veins. A primal desire invaded him and he licked lightly the stretch of her neck, tentatively, savoring the flavor of the cold skin. Rima moaned lowly and he narrowed her in his arms. She tilted her head a little, giving him full access to her jugular. He scratched the skin with his fangs, taking a minimal of blood, but did not bite. At the time, other kind of urgency was calling, awakened by the way Rima pressed her body against his. Shiki turned his attention to her full lips in time to see the slightest of the smiles grace them. She was enjoying the conflict desires she was causing in him. Obviously. He also would. The girl writhed in an insinuative way, before she relaxed her embrace, increasing, in an almost imperceptible way, the distance between them. But he noticed. He moved quickly, trying to avoid that any part of their bodies stopped touching. Impulsively, he kept walking fast towards the canopy bed. Really fast. In fact, so fast, that even someone as skilled as Rima could not avoid losing balance upon reaching the edge of the bed.

The two fell with a dull thud. Without wasting any time, Shiki captured her lips again. But, as soon as it started, it stopped. He pulled back, changing his weight to his elbows, in each side of Rima. He looked at her in a curious way. A very slightly glow in his silver eyes. She looked back questioningly. As he did not manifest, she raised an eyebrow. He still did not provide any type of information, his gaze far away. He was oddly non-decipherable at the moment, and she didn't like it.

"What?" Rima asked a little upset.

The silver eyes return to focus on her and he smiled. A wild smile, since, rare.

Any irritation she could have was quickly dissolved in the air. Spreading like breeze with the preciousness of the smile.

"I was just thinking about the time back when we were children."

"Now?" She answered looking significantly to their entwined bodies.

"I was remembering how we met." The glow was back to his eyes, but soon it was gone. "Did you know at that time what we would be to each other?"

She was silently for a while, surprised by the question. But soon enough she recovered herself and said in a provocative tone: "Of course not, I hated you."

"That is a lie." He said naturally.

"Yeah, I know. But no, I had no idea what we would mean to each other. But why does it matter now?"

"It doesn't. I was just thinking that, back in that day, I could not imagine that I had just met the vampire who would own my heart."

Rima looked away, feeling a little shaky by the sincerity in his voice. However being together for some time, whenever he spoke of his feelings she felt a wave of emotion take her. Maybe the_speaking_ part was the big deal.

"I didn't know that today we would be here, that I would be holding you in my arms. That you would be always by my side, that we would share our life; our blood. No, I did not know that the best thing that could happen to me had just started. That I had met the most important person in my life."

Without saying a word, Rima pulled him in another kiss.

* * *

"Mommy! Come here! There are colorful fishes!" A boy that couldn't be more than six years old squealed from where he stayed beside the small lake. "And turtles!" The kid's voice was glowing with emotion.

A stunning woman approached in an elegant walk, even though high heels are not made to walk in the grass. She sat gracefully in the ground besides her son, not caring about her white cotton dress, and observed the water illuminated by the moonlight.

"They are beautiful, Senri. Which one is your favorite?"

But the boy wasn't paying attention to the fishes anymore. In place of them, his eyes held up a pair of frogs croaking in the lake.

After the frogs there was the ducks, then the flowers, the fruiting trees, a lustrous spider and a giant moth. He dragged his mother from one place to the next, tugging the hem of her skirt, holding her hand and talking uninterruptedly. It was not long before he found a well, then a bench hidden among the azaleas and finally a nest of little birds perched on a low branch. His silver eyes sparkled with wonder and joy, a smile permanently plastered on his face.

He was pointing to his mother the place where he found a fox's home, full with little cubs and a nervous mommy, when a maidservant approached discreetly and called the mistress of the house to the side. They exchanged a few words before the lady with the long mahogany hair take her son in her arms and hold him close.

"Mommy must go inside. Daddy is here."

All the joy vanished from the kid's face and he slumped in his mother's arms, like a puppet that loosened ropes, without any liveliness.

The beautiful woman gave him a sad smile and kissed him lightly on the forehead. "Later you finish showing me our new yard."

She put the boy back in the ground and turned to instruct the maidservant to keep an eye on him. When she focused her attention in the kid again, he was in the exactly same position she left him, staring his feet. She sighed.

"Senri, do you want to do something for mommy?"

He nodded without looking up.

She kneeled in front of him, dragging the hem of her dress in the grass.

"Then you have a mission. You must find the most beautiful flower we have so I can use it tomorrow when I'm talking to the television man, alright?"

The boy lifted his shoulders, listless.

"I'm glad I can count on you to help me. Mom wants to be lovely in the interview and I trust only you on that."

Senri looked up from the floor, a smile emerging on his lips.

* * *

"Little master! Little master!" The young lady cried while running after her tiny master. "Here is not your property anymore!" She panted. She was chasing the boy back and forth for more than three hours. He visited every bush, tree, plat and creeper in his yard and now was ignoring the high hedges that separate her mistress' house from the aristocratic neighbor. A bunch of flowers was left in its trail, but he was always holding one (the last he picked) carefully in his hand. He had spotted very pretty treetop and decided to go through the hedges to compare the two flowers before returning home and handing his mother the winner. The boy vehemently ignored the maidservant and continued to run through the dark gardens. He climbed the tree as soon as he reached the base. Shiki perched up in the branches and began to rummaging through the flowers, looking for the prettiest to compare it to his previous choice. He was there for a few minutes when he found it. Growing between the orange flowers was a different one, showing petals tarnished with red. That was the one. It would be wonderful in his mother's mahogany hair.

He harvested it carefully and jumped from the tree. He smiled widely to the young lady that watched him and with no further delay, returned running to his own yard, bringing the flower close to his chest.

But he hadn't gone far before he hit something soft and substantial, knocking down the obstacle and falling over it.

"What is your problem?" Complained the angry girl in whom he stumbled.

Senri got up immediately, looking rather startled.

"Sorry, I didn't look where I was going."

"Well, that's obvious." The girl uttered bitterly while she stood up and tapped a hand on her skirt to remove the dirt. Her hair was of a very light orange andshe had bright cerulean eyes. She panted a little, as if she had run a long distance. "Who are you and what are you doing in my yard?"

"We were already leaving." Intervened the young lady who accompanied him, before anything else could be said.

"I was not talking to _you_, servant. Remember your place." The little girl said in despite.

The lady lowered her eyes embarrassed and muttered apologies.

"So… Who are you?" The girl insisted.

"I'm Shiki Senri. And you?"

"Touya Rima." She answered proudly. "You're a noble."

'Yes, so are you."

"That's obvious."

"I like the color of your hair. It's very pretty."

"I know." She hesitated. "Thank you."

"You are welcome." Shiki said. "I'm glad I have a neighbor about my age."

"I don't know why."

"Because we can play together!"

Rima made a sound of contempt.

"Do not jump to conclusions. I don't usually play with other people."

"Why not?"

She didn't answer. Shiki keep staring at her curiously, a little worried. When he realized that the girl had no intention in saying anything, he decided to break the silence.

"That's a shame. But we can change it! Now that I'm here, we can play together every night."

Still no answer.

"I'm looking forward for that. I've never had a friend. Have you had?"

He looked at her in expectation, a little frustrated by her distant and proud posture.

"Not exactly," She said after a while. "We don't have many visitors in the country."

The boy seemed to chill. "That's sad…" But then his face lightened again. "But that's okay! We will spend a lot of time together! Have a lot of fun. I like to climb trees, do you like it? I like swimming too, and you? I also like…"

Rima laughed softly.

"You are very cheerful. Have you ever thought about stopping talking to take a breath?"

A light ton of red rose to his cheeks.

"Sorry."

"No problem. But between everything you said, you still didn't tell me what you're doing in my garden."

"I was looking for a pretty flower for my mommy to use it tomorrow." He answered lively.

"Why don't you take one from _your_ yard?"

"It's just that I saw this tree from far away, and she seemed the most beautiful. So I came here to see it. And it was. Then I chose a flower…" He shook his hands enthusiastically, but then his smile disappeared. The flower he was holding was shattered, it's petals scattered on the ground. "And now it's destroyed." He ended quietly.

"It's your fault. You should look where you're going. "

Tears started streaming down the boy's face.

"Gosh, it's just a flower." The girl said uncomfortable.

"It's not just a flower!" He sobbed back. "It was the most beautiful flower I have ever seen. My mom needs the most beautiful flower of all. "

"Why? All flowers are beautiful, pick another."

"But she has been so sad… I said I would pick the prettiest. I wanted her to smile again." The boy hiccupped.

Rima's eyes widened but she didn't say anything. They stayed silent for many seconds, the boy's cry echoing through the night. Finally the little aristocrat sighed.

"Alright, you can take another one of those flowers, I'll let you."

"That's not it. This one was different. It was the prettiest."

"How picky you are!" She said exasperated.

He continued to cry disconsolately. The servant girl fidgeted restlessly, but dared not to interrupt the conversation of the nobles.

Rima sighed again.

"Come with me." She took his hand and dragged him with her while she walked resolute in the big white house's direction.

She looked annoyed towards the maid who followed them, making the young lady down her face and slow her pace, increasing the distance between them.

They walk for a while, until they stopped in front of a balcony. The girl pointed upward and climbed the wall, leaning in notches and jumping graciously. Shiki followed closely. The young servant thought to be better stay in the ground.

"Here," Rima said pointing to a flower vase in the moment he arrived in the balcony, "This is the most beautiful flower you will ever see."

And it was. Some kind of harpsichord; the petals a pale yellow with crimson edges.

"They're beautiful." He smiled. "Thank you."

She nodded slightly, took one of the flowers and handed it to him.

"Now go. I hope your mother like it."

His smile widened and he took the flower.

"Thank you, Rima."

The girl froze, finding the intimacy of the treatment strange.

"You're welcome, Shiki."

"Call me Senri." He said cheerfully.

"I'd rather not ..."

"Why not?"

"We're not friends."

The expression on the boy's face faded and he withdrew with a nod.

* * *

Rima shifted in bed, unable to sleep. It had been a hard night. When she got back home, her mother had punished her severely for running away during their fight, and even more because the hem of her dress was a little dirt (from when she fell).

Rima's family was of very proud nobles. No behavior that was not of perfect finesse was admitted. She was frequently falling in disgrace because she seemed "incapable to act as a good-educated-girl." The fight that night developed around the fact that she wanted to learn how to play harmonica and not piano. Her mother said that this instrument was not _fit for a family girl,_and that she should conform herself to learn the piano.

She threw the sheets to the side upset, lifted from the bed and walked towards the window. When she delicately pulled back the curtains in order to open it, she saw a figure moving in the garden from afar. A closer look allowed her to recognize Shiki Senri, the boy from that night. She put a peignoir hurried, grabbed an umbrella and went down to meet him.

"What are you doing here at this time? It's late!" She asked as soon as she was by his side.

"I was just walking…" He replied a little uneasy.

"Don't say you lost the flower!"

"No!" He rushed to assure her. "It's just that… My father is at home, and I don't have permission to stay there while he is." He said looking to his feet, occupied digging a hole in the grass.

"Why not?" She asked curiously.

"He says I annoy him." The boy replied simply, shrugging.

"But your house is huge; you don't need to be close to him." She insisted.

"He says that sensing my presence annoys him." Shiki emphasized with a sighed.

Rima didn't know what to say. She chose to stay quiet, observing the boy. Then she noticed that he was directly exposed to the sun, that he was narrowing his eyes and trying to protect his face with a hand.

"Here, share with me." She offered inclining the umbrella in a way that both of them were covered.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"I forgot to take the necessary precautions to walk in the daylight. I'm not used to the life in the country. Before, when I needed to stay away from home, I went to my aunt's house and everything was fine, but now…"

"Why did you move?" She inquired trying to change the subject.

"Because my father ordered us too. He doesn't like me or my mom to be seen by other vampires. In the begging, he just forbids us from leaving the house, but now he decided that would be better if we lived far away from the society. I think he didn't know that there was someone living in your house. My mom said she wanted to come breath some fresh air, but I know it's not true, I heard her fight with my aunt. Aunt Jen says that my father is bad for my mom. I think it's true. I know she doesn't like it here as much as I do, that she wanted to stay in the city, there she has a job, friends, family." He said in one breath, without taking his eyes from the ground.

Rima listened carefully everything, frightened by the weight of the things he said. They were walking through the gardens of her house, between the trees.

"But the country is good." She found herself saying. "The air is more pleasant, and you can escape from the society of annoying nobles." She repeated the words her parents said too many times.

Shiki smiled emotionless.

"Why are you awake at this time?" He changed the subject.

"It's… Complicated." The little girl turned her face away.

"I understand."

Rima sighed and twisted her hands before taking a deep breath and spilling her next words.

"I had a fight with my mom and couldn't sleep. She said I can't learn to play the harmonica and that I look more like a servant than a lady."

"She shouldn't say that!" Shiki seemed outraged. Then he included: "I know how to play the harmonica. If you want to, I teach you in secret."

The girl smiled slightly.

"I would love it."

They walked together in silence a little more before Shiki decided to talk again.

"Well, since we are both awake, we could play…"

"Of what?"

"Wanna bet who can get to the top the faster?" He asked pointing to a giant Sequoia, away from both their houses, deep in the forest.

She hesitated for a second. "Ok."

* * *

Rima and Shiki sat tired in her bedroom's balcony. They had played for hours, and the bright sun depleted their forces. Now they barely could keep their eyes open. Rima went silent to the kitchen and took a bag of Pocky, now they chewed it slowly. When Shiki yawned loudly, Rima had an idea.

"Hey, with you want to, you can sleep in the couch in my bedroom…" She said flushing a little.

He looked a bit startled, hesitant. Then he smiled.

"I would be very grateful, Touya."

"You know, you can call me Rima." The girl said a little uneasy, looking away from him.

Shiki's tired smile spread through his face. "Then, thank you, Rima."

She noticed he didn't return the courtesy. Could be because he didn't think it was necessary, or he just didn't remember it, she didn't know. But she said to herself that she would not call him by his given name until the day he explicitly give her the liberty.

The both of them entered the bedroom and Rima threw a pillow and a blanket to him, so he could protect himself from the little luminosity that made through the curtains. Then she tugged in her bed and closed its curtains around her.

"Good night, Rima." Shiki yawned.

"Good night."

* * *

Rima shifted her weight from one foot to the other impatient. She was waiting for a little more than a minute for someone to come and open the door, and until now, nothing happened. And she was not used to wait for so long. The girl clenched her fists and prepared to knock again but before she could touch the wood she heard a hasty movement on the other side of the door. She lowered her arm, but the movement ceased and the door was not open. Furious, she tapped her knuckles hard on the wood. She waited a few more seconds before someone answered.

She gave the maid a sour look, but didn't say anything, seeming a little surprised. The servant looked exhausted. More than that. It was like she had been tied under the sun, without any kind of food for more than a day. Very dark circles dug on her white face, her hair was tousled and her skin moist.

"Touya-san, I'm very much sorry from the taking so long to answer."

"No problem." Rima said in a voice almost worried.

The girl mentioned to enter, but the maidservant didn't give her passage. Rima's eyes sparkled with anger.

"Who you think you are to stand in my way?" She said between her teeth.

The woman winced, but didn't move an inch.

"I'm sorry Touya-san, but Shiki-kun cannot receive you today."

"How so?"

"Today is not a good day. I'll let him know you passed by."

"He told you to say that?"

The maid hesitated, Rima noticed.

"So let me in."

"I'm sorry, but I must not. He really can't receive anyone today. "

"Why not?"

"I can't give you that information."

Now Rima's whole face was twisted with rage. Her eyebrows furrowed and her mouth became a thin line.

"Then he will give me. Call him here."

"Touya-san I think…"

"I don't care what you think or fail to think."

"But…"

Rima glared furious at the woman and the air around her seemed to change of texture, electrified. The servant must have notice it too, because she gave her passage with a deep bow. The little girl strode directly to the room where she usually met her friend, knowing the way by heart. But as soon as she reached the end of the first flight of stairs, she froze. The air smelled a little like blood.

She run through the other flight then took right in the corridor. Through the door ajar of a room she didn't know, she saw an enormous mess of torn tissue, scattered plumes, pieces of wood and dried blood. In the middle of the room there was Sayuya, Shiki's mom. Her long dress hanging in strips of her body, her hair disheveled, her gaze unfocused. She was lying on the floor like a rag doll. Shiki was kneeling close to her head, stroking her hair and saying something softly. Rima could see her friend's wet face, and the way his hands looked nervous, as if they feared to break the woman they were touching.

Rima stopped. She could not advance; she didn't want to intrude in his intimacy like that. But she also couldn't withdraw because she was mesmerized; because she was worried. So she waited. She waited until Shiki got up from the floor. She waited until the sun rose, and then to the next moon. Waited. There was not a moment Sayuya moved a muscle. There was not a moment Shiki turned his eyes away from his mother. Rima had a vague consciousness of the pain in her stomach, feet, and the gravity effect in her eyelids. But she stayed.

And, when Shiki finally rose from the floor, she was still there. He guided the bewildered figure of his mother out of the room. He passed by Rima without showing any signs of recognizing her and disappeared in the above floor. As if an enchantment was break, the girl could finally move. Feeling suddenly an intruder, she started to withdraw, groping her way back to the door. But she was not very far before a voice made her stop. Shiki called her in a way that was no louder than a whisper. But she understood. She went upstairs to where he was. Found him sitting in his room, looking a point that was not there. Everything in his body screamed exhaustion.

"My father left for real. Something inside my mother broke." He said without looking at her.

Rima did not answer, just sit by his side and touched his hand slightly, in a silent signal that he would have the support he needed. Nothing was said for a long time. But there was no need of it. She understood what he needed her to understand, and he understood what she wanted him to know.

And it was then that he knew he would trust her when he trusted no one else. That he would follow her wherever she decided to go. He knew he would care for her more than he cared about his own life.

And it was then that she knew she would stay by his side all the time, watching as the smiling boy increasingly closed himself to the world, seeing the hopelessness and pain covering his heart. She knew she would do whatever it took for things to return to how it was in the last few weeks.

It was then that they knew nothing would ever do them apart.

* * *

_**A/N: **So... This storie just appeared almost finished in my mind one day reading the final VK chapters... I always wondered how they met, and why Rima insisted calling him by his surname... Hope you liked my way of answering it!_


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